PDS License is a Personal Privilege and Abates Upon Death of Licensee Having No Inheritable Right

The petitioner, Sk. Nayeem, held a Public Distribution System (PDS) license which was cancelled by the S.D.O. on 23.05.2012.

His subsequent appeal before the Collector (07.05.2015) and revision before the Divisional Commissioner (12.10.2015) were both dismissed, affirming the cancellation.

The petitioner approached the High Court seeking quashing of these orders and restoration of the license.

During the pendency of the writ petition, the petitioner passed away on 15.03.2023.

His son, Sheikh Shakur, filed a substitution petition (I.A. No. 1 of 2024) to pursue the litigation as a legal heir.

1. Whether a PDS license constitutes an inheritable right that allows a legal heir to pursue a writ petition challenging its cancellation after the death of the original licensee.

2. Whether the cause of action survives the death of the petitioner when the license was validly cancelled and affirmed through the revisional stage during his lifetime.

The Court applied the principle that a PDS license is a personal privilege granted to an individual and does not create an inheritable right or an interest that automatically vests in legal heirs.

It further referenced the Bihar Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016, which governs the eligibility and criteria for the grant of fresh licenses.

The Court observed that the original petitioner's license had been cancelled in 2012 and that this cancellation was concurrently sustained by both the Appellate and Revisional authorities in 2015.

Because the license is a personal privilege rather than a property right, the Court reasoned that the right to challenge the cancellation does not devolve upon the legal heir.

Consequently, since the original licensee had passed away, the cause of action abated.

The Court noted technical deficiencies in the substitution application, such as the lack of a Vakalatnama and failure to disclose all legal heirs, but pinned its decision on the substantive law that the right to sue did not survive the death of the individual licensee.

The Court clarified that the legal heir is at liberty to apply for a fresh license in his own name under the Bihar Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016, which would be considered on its own merits.